A sleazy, chaotic peek behind the curtain of 1980s Hong Kong filmmaking where egos crash harder than box office flops.
The main characters - the arrogant, harassed director, the sexy starlet, or naïve actors are familiar enough stereotypes. Along the way however, there is some fun to be had as more humorous incidents occur on the sound stage, together with dashes of nudity. Some of the events are presumably inspired by real life experiences, others have a distinct air of wishful fabrication. The over-the-top Kung Fu star, deserted by director and crew as he goes through his pointless extended routine, for instance. Or the action heroes, sweating in furs while they dutifully munch through their meal scene, 'snow' falling outside in studio land.
Direction
Li Han-Hsiang's self-aware jabs at his own industry
Production
Gloriously fake studio snow and absurd kung fu delays
Director
Li Han-Hsiang
Tony Liu Tian-jue
Xu Xiang
Choh Seung-Wan
Queen of Temple Street
Ku Feng
Movie director
Helen Poon Bing-Seung
Actress of White Snake
Susan Shaw Yam-Yam
Shao Yin Yin
Chan Shen
Fa Hai
Ching Miao
Dr Zhao
Wang Lai
Md She
Chiang Nan
Movie director Yang
Shum Lo
Movie producer
Lau Siu-Kwan
Ms Dai's fiance
Eric Chan Ga-Kei
Tsang Choh-Lam
Lao Si
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Li Han-Hsiang was a prolific Shaw Brothers director who frequently made films about filmmaking, turning his own industry's excesses into self-referential content.
The 'White Snake' actress references connect to Li's earlier erotic adaptations of Chinese folklore, suggesting this 'behind-the-scenes' narrative quietly continues his exploitation era.
HK
